Carry On Cath
by joshaidan
Summary: I found the character of Cather (Cath) Avery from Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell so interesting that I thought she deserved to live on in a work of Fanfiction. I also found the idea of writing fanfiction for a novel about fanfiction to be irresistible. So here's my ongoing project to keep Cath, Wren, Levi and the others alive.
1. Chapter One

**Introduction**

Cather (Cath) Avery, aka Magicath is the most famous Simon Snow fan fiction author in the world created by author Rainbow Rowell.

She is most notably known for the controversy she created with author Gemma T. Leslie when anticipation of the final chapter of her work, Carry On Simon, far exceeded that of the final Simon Snow movie, Simon Snow and the Eighth Dance to be released in January 2013.

**Summer**

Cath could not believe it was over. Her first year of college, done. Yet this was not the ending that bothered her most. She should have been bothered by Levi heading back to Arnold, or having to say goodbye to Reagan for the summer. (Reagan will spend the summer in California for an internship) But all Cath could really think about was Simon and Baz.

It's Done. Finished.

Simon and Baz had been part of her life since she and Wren were eight years old. And now, will they live on? The books were done. Carry On Simon was almost done. Wren had finished beta reading it. Wren had held the story hostage when Cath was still insistent that Baz had to die. The fighting between the two became so unbearable that Jadro, Levi, and their dad had to stage an intervention.

"But she can't kill off Baz." Wren insisted. "It's bad enough what GTL did to him in the cannon, and you still have a chance to right a wrong."

Cath was starting to lose it. "Right a wrong? Wren, do you understand what you're saying? How dare you accuse GTL of-" Cath and Wren stood up from their seats, but before either of them could take a step towards the other, Jandro and Levi were quick to hold them back.

Their dad looked at them both with his hand pressed against his chin. "This is more serious than I thought." He put down the sharpie and piece of cardstock he was using to take notes, or draw pictures-nobody was quite sure what he was doing. "Alright, nobody is leaving this room until some kind of compromise is reached."

"Alright, Baz can live, but only if he has to spend the rest of his life in the Forest of Dreams." Cath gave Wren a firm look and folded her arms over her chest.

"No, not the Forest of Dreams, because if Baz was caught in the Forest of Dreams, Simon would only be able to visit him on nights when there's a full moon."

Cath took a deep breath, closed her eyes for a moment, then spoke. "Okay, Baz can remain in the world proper, but only if he has the curse of the fallen mage."

"But then Simon won't be able to touch Baz!"

Cath gave Wren a deep stare.

"Fine, if that's what it takes."

A silent cheer was felt throughout the room. Levi let go a big smile. Jandro pumped both fists in the air. Their dad grabbed his sharpie and started drawing again on the cardstock.

"I think it's time for some burritos. I'm going to find a taco truck." As their dad was starting to collect his things, Levi could not stop glowing. He was so excited that he didn't even think before he spoke. "So, now we can all focus on bigger things, like Magicon."

"Levi, no!" Their dad squeezed the car keys tightly in his left hand.

"But if I go as Simon, then you have to go as Baz."

"No, I'm going as Penelope, and you're going as Augusta."

"Sorry I forgot about the costumes." Levi, his smile gone, was very apologetic to their dad.

Their dad rolled his eyes.

"Cath did you just see that? Dad rolled his eyes at us." He quickly stepped through the door before any arguing resumed.

With their differences worked out, Cath had Wren's approval to publish the conclusion of Carry On Simon, but something made pushing the submit button rather difficult for Cath. Perhaps it was the feeling that putting it off meant holding on to Simon just a little bit longer. Or maybe it meant not having to think about the future and what she would write next. There were also other things to think about. Levi was back home working on his family's ranch. Cath hasn't yet visited him, still afraid of his mother. And then there was the one who's name we cannot mention. Why does it seem like most of her problems are mother related?

Cath stared at the Simon Snow posters in her and Wren's room. It was like time froze. "Living in the time frozen dream forest wouldn't be so bad." Cath thought to herself. Wren was moving on. She got a summer job bussing at a restaurant in downtown Omaha. Cath didn't want to get a job, but she had to. It was the only way she could afford the trip to Magicon. She had managed to get a job at one of the local Barnes & Noble. Her first shift started in three days. Days that couldn't be long enough away.

For now, Cath sat on her bed. Her laptop was in front of her lying flat on the bed. She would reach for it now and then, until she remembered there were no more words to write.

At least none she wanted to write.


	2. Chapter Two

Cath wore her black Barnes and Noble uniform while she sat with her dad in the car. Every now and then she took a nervous glance at the giant store.

"I remember my first day at work." Her dad lifted his head up, staring out into the clouds. "It was a beautiful day, just like today, up until fucking Kelly..."

Cath zoned out from her dad's speech. She looked at the door handle, took a deep breath and whispered, "One small step for twin sisters, one giant leap for Cath Avery."

"...and then when I sat down at my desk he-have a good first day Cath!" Her dad gave her a smile. Cath smiled back and walked to the front entrance of the store.

"It's just a bookstore." Cath always loved bookstores, and felt at home in them. She was not going to let some job change her love for bookstores. She remembered the Simon Snow launch parties she attended at this Barnes and Noble, when she and Wren dressed up in costumes, always waiting near the front of the line, watching the staff bring out the boxes of Simon Snow books from the back. "The staff! The back of the bookstore!" Cath realized she would finally get to walk through the secret back room, filled with boxes of unreleased books. A smirk grew on her face and her shoulders lifted themselves higher. She walked through the front doors of the store with pride, excited for what discoveries awaited her. Until she remembered there were no more unreleased copies of Simon Snow. Her shoulders sank a bit.

"You must be Cather Avery." The voice startled Cath. "I'm Michael, the manager on duty this morning and the person doing your orientation." Cath stared at Michael while he kept talking. "Lets start by getting you a name tag." Michael led Cath to an office beside the front checkout. He rambled on about something related to their mission statement, before asking Cath a question. "So I hear you're a Simon Snow fan! Actually, come to think of it, you have a twin sister right? I think I remember you from the last two release parties!"

Cath wasn't expecting she would have a reputation so fast on her first day, but it's Simon Snow, so her shoulders perked up. "Yes, that's me and my sister Wren. We've been to every release party since the second book. We're even going to Magicon in a few weeks!"

"That's awesome!" Michael was excited. Confidence felt like a powerful drug when it is executed so intensely. She could get addicted to it, a bit like Wren if she wasn't careful.

"We often like to put nicknames on our name badges. Do you have a nickname Cath? Hmm... Maybe we can make one up. You like Simon Snow, so how about something to do with magic. Umm... Magic, Magica... Oh! Magicath!"

"No!"

Michael was startled by Cath's sudden scream.

"Lets just stick to Cath for now." Whew, crisis averted! Advertising her secret identity was the last thing she wanted to do. She decided to go easy on the confidence drug for now.

"Alright, Cath it is."

Levi stared at her from the screen of her laptop. He was skyping Cath from his family's ranch in Arnold. Cath was sobbing. She had been sobbing since the call started.

"What's wrong Cath?" He wished he could reach out from the screen and hold her in his arms. "Did something happen on your first day of work?"

Cath tried hard to fight back the tears so that she could speak. "It started off okay, but then it ended in absolute horror." She wiped a tear from her cheek.

Levi's face got bigger on the screen as he moved in closer to listen.

"First they started training me on the tills. That was alright, until things started getting busy. One customer freaked out at me because I was too slow at counting change, so they moved me to the floor. That went okay until a customer asked me to find a book by some author named Rainbow Rowell. The computer said we had one copy left, but I couldn't find it. I asked Michael for help, and that's when he... he forced me to..."

"He forced you to what? Cath if he did anything to you I'll-" Levi's face filled with rage.

"No, nothing like that... just worse."

Levi looked puzzled, confused, and still angry.

"He made me rip the covers off unsold books! Levi, I have book blood on my hands." Cath held out her hands so that Levi could see them in the Skype window. Levi's facial expression changed from anger to shock, then to horror.

"That's awful!" said Levi.

All Cath could think about was the horrid sound the covers made when they detached from the book's spine. It was like tearing the author's soul from the book. She could only envision some girl somewhere tearing her own soul out of her own unsold book, and the thought would now haunt her every time she stared at a blank page.

Cath adjusted herself on her bed. She moved her laptop screen to a place where she could stare at Levi's face. It seemed to help, staring at the curves around his cheekbone. The longer she sat in silence staring at Levi, the more the tears around her cheek started to dry up.

"Fourth of July is going to be epic. We're getting everything ready for you at the ranch," said Levi.

Sigh, the feeling returned.


End file.
